Billfold and the like



' a. ll/(ZkhmHSt Thomas April 5,- 1938, w. H. St THOMAS ET AL' 2,113,037

BILLFOLD AND THE LIKE Filed July 23, 1957 INVENTORS ATTORNEY.

I Patented Apr. 5, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BILLFOLD AND THE LIKE York Application July 23, 1937, Serial No. 155,204

3 Claims.

This invention relates to billfolds and the like.

The objects of the invention are to provide an improved billfold having a captive or tethered receptacle; to provide a ready and simple means 5 for extracting the contents of a pocket and make possible the selection of the wanted item without having to handle the entire contents of the pocket; to provide ready access to numerous credentials; to provide maximum freedom of move- 10 ment of the receptacle within its range of tethering; to minimize difiiculty of operation; to lessen the likelihood of tearing the receptacle from the billfold; to provide a novel construction of tether for the receptacle; to obtain maximum strength 15' of connection between the tether and receptacle at the withdrawn position of the receptacle; to provide a relatively short flexible connection between the inner end of the member and the fixed part of the tether; to secure simplicity of con- 1 20 struction and operation; and to obtain other advantages and results as may be brought out in the following description.

Drawing:- Figure 1 is a perspective view of billfold em- 26 bodying our invention and showing the captive member in its normal position of rest within its pocket;

Figure 2 is a similar perspective view with the captive member withdrawn as far as its, tether- 30 ing will permit;

Figure 3 is a partial view of the billfold but with portions broken away and in section for showing the tethering construction;

Figure 4 is an elevation viewing the tethering 35 means from the opposite face seen in Figure 3 with a portion of the billfold shown as folded upward out of the way to give a clear vision of the tethering construction; and

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken longitudinally '40 of the billfold as upon line 5-'5 of Figure 1.

Description?- In the specific embodiment of the invention illustrated in the said drawing, reference numeral Ill designates what may be termed the 45 body portion or main longitudinal wall of the billfold. 3n. one side of this wall It) is provided another wall II which constitutes the outside wall of the billfold and between which two walls bills (paper money) or other items may be intro- 50 duced. Particular disclosure shows an intervening partition I! between the" main wall or body portion l and the outside wall II for separating different denominations of bills or for other papers. This feature, however, is men- 55 tioned only because it is illustrated and not bestruction.

cause of its necessary inclusion as part of the invention. It will be observed that walls l0 and I I and partition I! provide pockets therebetween which open along the entire longitudinal upper edge of the billfold. In use, the billfold is doubled at its middle at a line transverse to the said longitudinal edge, and each end portion of the billfold at the inside face of body portion Ill may be provided with pockets opening toward the line of doubling ofthe billfold. The present invention is shown in association with the pocket thus formed at the righthand end of the billfold illustrated in the drawing. The pocket designated by numeral I3 is conveniently formed by a wall I which also constitutes a part of the inner wall of the billfold. In the precise showing of the drawing, the lower front edge of this wall I4 is included beneath a turned-up edge or hem I5 of back wall H and held by a line of stitching IS. The said wall I4 is bent over the longitudinal upper edge of body "portion 10, and may, if desired and as shown continue downwardly behind the said wall I 0 to also be stitched within hem I5 by'the same line of stitching l6. These various details of the billfold construction are described-merely to aid in understanding the drawing. The essential consideration is merely that a pocket is provided and the means shown is only one of many for obtaining apocket in a billfold.

Within pocket I3 is s'lidably positioned a captive receptacle ll. This receptacle may assume various shapes and get various details of con- In the particular illustration said receptacle is shown with a back member l8 substantially the width of pocket 13 so as to have a 5 sliding fit with respect thereto. The forward end of the back member l8 continues to form a flap [9 which, when the pockets are closed can be positioned flatwise over a pocket and the otherwise exposed face of the inner wall I4, and 40 held in such flatwise position by means of a loop 20 on said face under which a tab 2| shown attached to the flap, may be inserted. The member I1 may likewise have at its front side a frame edging'22 and a replaceable transparent front face 23 held beneath the said edging. The edging is preferably held taut as by a line of stitching 2| next the longitudinal side edges and inner end edge of'the backing l8. Backing II and said transparent member 23 with its edging 22 combine to form a convenient receptacle for identification cards or other items. 7

At the inner end of captive member I1, is provided an extension 25 either integral with or attached to the backing ll of said member and providing a convenient means for securing a metallic rectangular loop 26 with respect to said member I! with the greatest length of 'the loop substantially normal to the length of said receptacle. The loop 26 will accordingly travel back and forth with the receptacle as the receptacle is slid into or pulled out of pocket I.

Tethering of receptacle I1 is eflected by means of suitable means providing a limited movement of the loop longitudinally above the pocket. The means shown comprises a double thickness of tape or the like 2'! with one bar of the loop riding between two plies of the tape and the tape having width substantially the length of the loop. Said tape is secured at its ends to the inner wall I! of the billfold where it is secured by line of stitching 2!. The other end of the tape issecured to the same wall ll of the billfold by line of stitching 29. Inasmuch as extension 25 carrying the loop spaces the loop a distance from the receptacle portion of member II, the attachment of the inner end of tape 21 by stitching 29 may conveniently be a distance from the end of the pocket corresponding to the length of said extension 25 and said extension will therefore double, as shown in Figure 5, when the receptacle is slid home within pocket 43. The distance which the captive member I! may be withdrawn from its pocket I3 is governed by the position of a line of stitching 30 connecting the two plies of tape 21 toward the open end ofpocket ll. When'the captive member is drawn outwardly, loop 26 seats at the end of the tape retaining means immediately adjacent the said line of stitching 30 which secures the plies of the tape together, and the loop is thus held in a position normal to the length of the tape, captive member and billfold, and the fact that extension 25 is short with the inner end of the receptacle still within the confines of pocket IS, the said receptacle is kept from materially sagging and is in proper position to be readily slid back into its pocket. Furthermore, the tape-like retaining means 21 is attached to the inner vwall of the billfold and consequently any strain applied tending to pull the receptacle away from the billfold has no tendency to pull the tape away from flatwise engagement with the wall to which it is attached, and likelihood of tearing either the said member or the wall to which it is attached is minimized. Furthermore, the fact that loop 26 is free to slide back and forth obtains the greatest ease of operation and freedom of movement of the captive member within the range of its tethering. Finally, attention is directed to the fact that the tape 21 constitutes a flexible loop longitudinal of the billfold and that the relatively rigid loop 26 slides freely with respect thereto and may teeter back and forth according to the direction of pull transmitted by the flexible extension 25 from the receptacle. The sliding of a relatively loose loop within a loop and actuation thereof to turn toward the direction of pull, obtains veryeasy sliding and avoids any dimculty in withdrawing or returning the receptacle with respect to its pocket.

We claim:-

I. A billfold or the like having a pocket, a member tethered in said pocket slidable into and out of the same, and tethering means comprising a looped tape within said pocket secured adJacent the open and closed ends thereof, said tethering means also comprising another loop transverse to and slidable on the first said loop, and a flexibleextension secured to the slidable loop and to the tethered member whereby said flexible extension may fold into a retracted position when fully inserted in the said pocket and forming a longitudinal continuation of the member when fully extended.

2. A billfold or the like having a pocket, a member tethered in said pocket slidable into and out of the same, and tethering means comprising a tape within said pocket secured adjacent the open and closed ends thereof, said tape comprising a flexible loop the forward end of which is rearward from the forward secured end of the tape adjacent the open end of the pocket, and a transverse loop slidably mounted within said loop of the tape and thereby connecting said tethered member slidably with respect to said tape, said tethering member having a flexible extension by which said transverse loop is attached thereto.

3, A billfold or the like according to claim 1,'

wherein said tethered member is made up of a plurality of parts, namely, a back section, a frame section, a transparent member detachably inserted between said frame and back sections, and a flap extending forwardly from the back section beyond the frame section to form a finger grip to manipulate the member.

WIILIAM H. ST. THOMAS. UI'IO D. WEYDENER. 

